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Reply to Faustus the Manichaean

50.

If Jacob had been of such a character as Faustus in his incurable blindness supposes, and not a servant of righteousness rather than of concupiscence, would he not have been looking forward eagerly all day to the pleasure of passing the night with the more beautiful of his wives, whom he certainly loved more than the other, and for whom he paid the price of twice seven years of gratuitous service? How, then, at the close of the day, on his way to his beloved, could he have consented to be turned aside, if he had been such as the ignorant Manichaeans represent him? Would he not have disregarded the wish of the women, and insisted upon going to the fair Rachel, who belonged to him that night not only as his lawful wife, but also as coming in regular order? He would thus have used his power as a husband, for the wife also has not power over her own body, but the husband; and having on this occasion the arrangement in their obedience in favor of the gratification of his love of beauty, he might have enforced his authority the more successfully. In that case it would be to the credit of the women, that while he thought of his own pleasure they contended about having a son. As it was, this virtuous man, in manly control of sensual appetite, thought more of what was due from him than to him, and instead of using his power for his own pleasure, consented to be only the debtor in this mutual obligation. So he consented to pay the debt to the person to whom she to whom it was due wished him to pay it. When, by this private bargain of his wives, Jacob was suddenly and unexpectedly forced to turn from the beautiful wife to the plain one, he did not give way either to anger or to disappointment, nor did he try to persuade his wives to let him have his own way; but, like a just husband and an intelligent parent, seeing his wives concerned about the production of children, which was all he himself desired in marriage, he thought it best to yield to their authority, in desiring that each should have a child: for, since all the children were his, his own authority was not impaired. As if he had said to them: Arrange as you please among yourselves which is to be the mother; it matters not to me, since in any case I am the father. This control over the appetites, and simple desire to beget children, Faustus would have been clever enough to see and approve, unless his mind had been corrupted by the shocking tenets of his sect, which lead him to find fault with everything in the Scripture, and, moreover, teach him to condemn as the greatest crime the procreation of children, which is the proper design of marriage.

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Contra Faustum Manichaeum libri triginta tres

50.

Hic vero ille, quem Faustus tamquam impudicum clausis vel potius exstinctis oculis criminatur, si concupiscentiae, non iustitiae servus esset, nonne per totum diem in voluptatem illius noctis aestuaret, qua erat cum pulchriore cubiturus, quam certe amplius diligebat et pro qua bis septenarium annorum laborem gratuitum penderat. Cum ergo iam die peracto in eius iret amplexus, quando inde averteretur, si talis esset, qualem Manichaei nihil intellegentes opinantur? Nonne placito contempto mulierum intraret potius ad speciosam suam, quae illi noctem ipsam non solum coniugis more, verum etiam ordinis iure debebat? Utereturque potius ipse potestate maritali, quia et uxor non habet potestatem corporis sui, sed vir, et pro eo tunc servitutis illarum vicissitudo faciebat. p. 643,21 Coniugali ergo potestate multo vincibilius uteretur, si formae desiderio vinceretur, sed eo meliores feminae invenirentur, si illae pro filiis concipiendis, ipse autem pro concubitus sui voluptate certaret. Itaque vir temperantissimus, ut plane vir, quia tam viriliter feminis utebatur, ut delectationi carnali non subiceretur, sed dominaretur, magis quid deberet quam quid ei deberetur, attendit; nec ad propriam voluptatem sua potestate abuti voluit, sed illius debiti redditor quam exactor esse maluit. Unde consequens erat, ut ei redderet, quam pro se id accipere illa cui debebatur elegit. p. 644,5 Quo earum placito pactoque comperto cum repente atque inopinate a pulcherrima coniuge revocaretur et ad minus decoram vocaretur, non ira excanduit, non tristitia nubilatus est, non enerviter blandus, ut sibi potius Rachel noctem redderet, inter ambas sategit, sed maritus iustus et providus pater, cum illas prolis curam gerere videret, et ipse nihil aliud de concubitu quaereret, earum voluntati obtemperandum iudicavit, quae sibi singillatim filios optabant, suae nihil minui, cui ambae pariebant, tamquam diceret: Vobis inter vos, ut vultis, cedite atque concedite, quaenam vestrum fiat mater; ego quid contendam, quando sive inde sive inde nascenti non erit alius pater? p. 644,17 Hanc profecto modestiam, hanc concupiscentiae coercitionem et in commixtione corporum coniugalium solum appetitum posteritatis humanae, ut erat acutus Faustus, in illis litteris et intellegeret et laudaret, nisi eius ingenium detestabili secta depravatum et quid reprehenderet quaereret et unam nuptialis conventionis honestatem, qua mares et feminae liberorum procreandorum causa copulantur, hoc crimen maximum deputaret.